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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources recently announced the revocation of 32 regulations in furtherance of the government's efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on the energy and mineral resources sector. However, it was unclear which of these regulations had been revoked before the announcement and which would be revoked in the future. This situation has now been clarified with the issuance of four new revoking regulations, which form part of what some have called a 'big-bang' reform.

The Supreme Court recently issued decisions recognising the inventiveness of two Novartis patents for a compound and a transdermal composition. The decision regarding the compound patent was noteworthy not only because this was the second time that the Supreme Court has recognised the inventiveness of a selection invention in South Korea, but also because both lower tribunals had specifically rejected the inventiveness of the selection invention compound.

Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc filed an opposition against the application for registration of the mark 'W' filed by W Land Holdings Inc in the Philippines for the latter's real estate business. The Supreme Court recognised that despite the physical absence of use of the W trademark in the Philippines, online bookings via websites constituted sufficient use of the mark in the country. However, the court also noted that such use must be genuine.

With few Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) corruption investigations resolved under the Trump administration's watch, it is too early to weigh up how the administration will affect enforcement or settlements in the long term. On its face, the new FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy signals a more business-friendly approach by removing the spectre of a monitor in many situations and by committing to a presumption of a declination in certain circumstances.

Transactions of Russian joint stock companies and limited liability companies require the consent of the general meeting or the board of directors if they qualify as material or interested party transactions. As the non-observance of the relevant requirements may be grounds for contesting these types of transaction, they should be observed not only by shareholders and members of the corporate bodies of the respective companies, but also by persons that wish to enter into such transactions with these companies.

The Court of Appeal recently considered whether a pay-when-paid clause in a construction contract is void under the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act. It found that pay-when-paid clauses under a construction contract drawn up before the enactment of the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act will remain valid and not be affected by the introduction of Section 35, which prohibits any conditional payment clauses in construction contracts.

Although the new trademark law was finalised in 2014, it has yet to come into force. Before it can be implemented, the government must finalise new trademarks regulations and the Trademarks Office's IT system must be modified to accommodate the changes to the law. Once implemented, the changes will be the most significant in 50 years – both procedurally and substantively.

In a recent case, Red Bull AG claimed that a trademark registered by Korean company Bullsone Co, Ltd should be invalidated due to the likelihood of confusion as to the source of the designated goods. A notable point in this case was the difference in position taken by the Japan Patent Office Trial and Appeal Board and the IP High Court with regard to the relevant trademarks and the evidence to be considered when determining the well-known status of the cited mark.

The federal government is moving quickly towards legalising the possession and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes. However, Canada's cannabis industry is already 'overgrown' with both licensed and unlicensed producers, all vying for consumers' attention. Brand owners, start-ups and so-called 'ganjapreneurs' in Canada's cannabis industry face a number of unique challenges and should strategise accordingly – ideally before launching a cannabis brand in Canada.

A number of district court decisions have held patent claims to be ineligible under Section 101 during motions brought at the start of litigation or on motions for summary judgment. However, two recent Federal Circuit decisions indicate that factual disputes over aspects of the two-step test for assessing patent eligibility established by the Supreme Court, including the tangibility of claims, may hinder such early or summary Section 101 determinations.

The commissioner of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) recently delivered a keynote speech at the National Administration for Industry and Commerce and Market Supervision Conference, unveiling various 2017 statistics and the SAIC's new 2018 initiatives on trademark practice.

Transparency International recently published the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, which reflects the public sector corruption perspective of non-governmental organisations and representatives of the business world. Turkey came 81st out of 180 countries. This is the fourth consecutive year in which Turkey's ranking has fallen; it has lost 10 points and fallen 28 places over the past five years.

The tax issues of a bankruptcy estate and the creditors differ depending on whether the bankruptcy estate continues the previous business of the debtor company. The effects of a debtor's bankruptcy on the creditor's taxation may be particularly significant where the creditor is a lessor to the debtor. Pursuant to legislation, a bankruptcy estate is, in principle, entitled to choose whether to conduct activity liable to value added tax provided that it does not continue the debtor's business.

The British Columbia Property Transfer Tax Act applies only to registered transfers of real property. However, significant real property-related tax changes are rumoured to be proposed in the upcoming provincial budget. Any amendment to the act that would tax transfers of beneficial ownership should not be made haphazardly. Such an amendment must be joined by, among other things, a mechanism to relieve the tax where the beneficial ownership is transferred to an affiliate.

A liquidator recently pursued a claim that the transfer of a company's trading inventory in satisfaction of money owed to the company's former director was a transaction at an undervalue and preference. The judge agreed, holding that the inventory transfer had been entered into with the intention of putting the former director in a better position than she would have been in on the company's liquidation.

At the end of January 2018, the Trump administration took two actions relating to the Russia and Ukraine sanctions programme under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act 2017, the law that President Trump signed on August 2 2017. While these acts did not result in the imposition of any actual sanctions, they do provide additional hints to businesses of where the Trump administration is heading in the months ahead, identifying risk areas that businesses can review and assess.

The European Commission has proposed a directive on preventive restructuring frameworks in order to reduce significant barriers to the free flow of capital caused by differences in member states' restructuring and insolvency frameworks. It aims for all member states to implement key principles for effective preventive restructuring and second-chance frameworks, as well as measures to improve the quality and efficiency of all types of insolvency procedure by reducing their length and associated costs.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) recently published a binding private ruling on the application of Paragraph 38(1) of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act to the distribution of shares by a trust to beneficiaries in the context of an employee share scheme. Although SARS stated that Paragraph 38(1) was not applicable to the trust's distribution of shares, the matter is complicated by the interaction between Section 8C of the act and the rules contained in the Eighth Schedule.

The Food Standards Agency recently announced that it has stopped products leaving sites run by Russell Hume, a major meat and poultry processing business, following "instances of serious non-compliance with food hygiene regulations". It has also required Russell Hume to withdraw existing products from the market. Incidents such as these raise a number of questions for food businesses and consumers about the safety and provenance of the food that they are buying.

The Act for Amendment and Supplementation of the Competition Protection Act was recently promulgated in the State Gazette. The new act follows the scope of the EU Damages Directive and applies to infringements of the Competition Protection Act regarding prohibited agreements and abuse of dominance.

The International Law Office (ILO) is a series of legal newsletters which provide expert legal commentary in the form of concise, regular news updates. ILO is written in collaboration with over 500 of the world's leading experts and covers more than 100 jurisdictions.